Inside story of father-daughter singing sensation that soothed U.S. during the pandemic

Mat and Savanna Shaw, the father-daughter singing duo from Utah, went viral as they started posting videos of themselves singing together on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What started out as a way to connect with friends and family through music in the midst of the lockdowns quickly became an avenue of healing and comfort for millions during the uncertain time. 

The first song Mat and Savanna recorded together in March of 2020 was a cover of "The Prayer," originally recorded by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion. On YouTube, the video has over 8.5 million views. Their music has also ranked #1 on multiple Billboard music charts, according to their website.

Mat told the "John Solomon Reports" podcast, "It was never intended to go beyond friends and family, and it just started to spread."

"And people are watching, and the biggest thing that hit us was the response that we kept getting from people about how, you know, it's right at a time where there was so much fear and anxiety and uncertainty as the pandemic was really taking hold, and people were finding a lot of hope and comfort and healing in the music. And so we've almost felt this responsibility to keep it coming just because of the meaningful responses that we kept getting in."

Savanna, one of four kids, said that their family has been very supportive, and two of her younger siblings joined her and Mat on the song, "Tonight You Belong to Me," singing and playing the ukulele.

"We're hoping that maybe they'll want to join us for some more music," Mat said. "We're planning Christmas already, and so we're thinking we may have some more of the family join us, which would be so fun."

The father-daughter duo has released three albums, starting with "Picture This," which is also the title of their first original song, followed by "Merry Little Christmas," and the most recent, "Stand by Me."

As COVID restrictions are being lifted, Mat and Savanna are in the process of putting a tour together, and already have an upcoming live performance scheduled in Utah.